UK—Australian social betting brand Dabble was authorized by the UK Gambling Commission in April this year and officially launched in the UK market. This is the third market the app has entered following Australia and the US (fantasy sports business), attempting to deeply integrate sports betting with social interaction and break the traditional betting model.
Dabble plans to make its name known in the UK through a social media promotion campaign starring former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan, intending to shake up the existing structure. The company was founded in Darwin and has now established a UK office in Leeds, actively recruiting marketing, compliance, and customer service teams.
To smoothly enter the UK, Dabble has expanded its partnership with BetMakers Technology, incorporating its Price Manager and Racelab ProFORM technologies into horse racing betting content to enhance the platform's product strength.
CEO Tom Rundle said: "We are not just here to compete for market share, we aim to create a new generation of gambling entertainment experience, not just about odds and win or lose. Our core is resonating with the way contemporary users interact, and we believe this concept will also be successful in the UK."
Dabble features combining traditional sports betting with social functions, offering channels like "Joke Channel" for user interaction, and "Copy Betting" tools, encouraging users to learn betting strategies from each other. This model has been very popular in the Australian market, with revenues doubling in 2024. However, Rundle also acknowledges that the UK is one of the most challenging gambling markets globally, especially when using celebrities for promotion, as it is crucial to be cautious to avoid breaching regulatory lines.
Recently, the UK gambling regulatory environment has continued to tighten. A few weeks ago, white-label operator TGP Europe had its license revoked by the UK Gambling Commission due to severe violations involving 15 of its brands, and was fined 3.3 million pounds. This incident highlights the gambling regulatory authorities' high attention to anti-money laundering and business cooperation scrutiny, also serving as a warning to newcomers like Dabble.
